


so my hopes rise and fall

by orphan_account



Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Awesome Ladies Ficathon, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-02
Updated: 2010-07-02
Packaged: 2017-10-10 08:54:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/97883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Primrose Everdeen is strong in her own way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	so my hopes rise and fall

During the 74th Hunger Games, the citizens of District Twelve pay more attention to the remaining Everdeens than any other moment in Prim's life. Her father's death elicited genuine sympathy, and her mother's elopement (so the hearsay goes) had warranted a stir back in the day. But during those weeks when the biting hunger in her stomach seemed so strong it threatened to consume from inside out, when Prim was simply too young to be of much help, when Katniss's eyes became almost wild with fear, they had been invisible to their neighbors. Prim begrudges no one this; every household in District Twelve, maybe every household in Panem, is at least a little desperate. Every household is a tiny army, trying to survive each year.

Still, Prim has been resolved, since the evening Katniss returned home with an armful of fresh baked bread, to never add to the burdens of her family. As promises go, she has upheld hers successfully. The goat cheese provides a reliably steady income and sometimes she can inspire a rare smile from Katniss.

On television, her sister's life story has become reduced to a few simple sound bites; she is a born fighter, whose only true weakness is, naturally, Peeta Mellark. And Katniss Everdeen has a sister, blonde where Katniss is dark, gentle where Katniss is tough, sweet where Katniss is like to shoot an arrow into someone's neck. It all combines for a gripping tale, and no wonder the denizens of the capital are said to be completely enamored with the (probably) doomed girl from District Twelve.

But the reporters miss many things, of course. They miss how Katniss always takes to the forest when some poor soul, mangled and bloodied, is brought to their home for Prim and her mother to heal. They miss how Katniss has always loathed the sight of human blood, while Prim can stitch a wound without feeling the slightest bit of nausea. They miss how the true implications of Katniss and Prim being robbed of their father at a young age, and how grief will _still_ briefly steal across Katniss's face when she thinks no one's looking. They miss the ways in which the two girls are more alike than they are different, and they'll never ask Prim if she feels guilt for being saved at the cost of Katniss's life.

_(She does. If the feeling abates, even slightly, one look at her mother brings it all rushing back.)_

And the reporters miss one tiny moment, during an unremarkable morning in Victors' Lane, several days after the cameras have left for good, As the sun rises in the sky, Prim makes a cup of tea and some toast for Katniss (who has come back home more broken than she will ever say.) Prim wakes her sister with a soft kiss on the forehead, whispering for the millionth time that it is so good to have her home safely.


End file.
